Tomato-Centric Cobb Salad

There's nothing wrong with the classic Cobb salad, but a few ingredient tweaks--more in-season tomatoes, the addition of tarragon, and a creamy blue cheese dressing instead of a vinaigrette plus cheese crumbles--makes this unforgettable.

Heat a small sauté pan over high heat. Add the bacon pieces to the hot pan and decrease the heat to low. Cook the bacon until crispy, then toss the croutons with the bacon and its rendered bacon fat; add a squeeze of lemon juice. Remove from the heat and set aside.

For the blue cheese dressing, combine the crème fraîche with the tarragon and blue cheese in a bowl and whisk until smooth; season with salt and pepper.

To assemble the salad, season the tomatoes with salt. Smear a large spoonful of the dressing onto each plate. Toss the greens in the remaining dressing and divide among the plates. Add the tomatoes, avocado slices, and 1 egg half to each plate. Top with the croutons and bacon and finish with some pepper. Serve immediately.